TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3522, 30 April 1872, Page 2

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

New Bate List.—The new rate list for the City is now open for inspection at the City Council offices. Theatre Royal.—Miss Jennie Nye takes a benefit this evening, and presents an irresistibly attractive programme. Philosophical Institute. The usual monthly meeting takes place to-morrow evening at the Literary Institute, when several papers will be read on interesting subjects. Avonside. —We are informed that the protest entered against the legality of the election of the vestry of the parish of Avonside at the last Easter meeting, has been withdrawn. City Council Accounts.—The receipts by the Town Clerk during the past week amounted to £73 12s 9d. The balance to the credit of the general City account was stated last night to be £lO9 3s, whilst the credit to the drainage account was £2 18s lOd. Acclimatisation. A Wellington exchange says : —Through the exertions of Mr Travers the Acclimatisation Society have secured two brace of black cock, the most valuable of all the grouse tribe. The birds were brought to Wellington from Melbourne by a gentleman who arrived in the Alhambra. Though they were originally imported from Norway the birds are quite young. We believe we are correct in stating these are the only black cock in the colony. As game these birds are extremely valuable on account of their size at maturity. The Malvern District.—A correspondent writes as follows : —The late very heavy rain has caused the river Hawkins to rise to an unprecedented extent. On Friday night it overflowed its banks, and all the country between what is known as the terrace on the north and the downs on the south was one sheet of water. The torrent carried everything before it, but as no one has yet been able to cross, the extent of the damage cannot be ascertained. It will no doubt be very great. A breakwater erected by the East Malvern Road Board is entirely gone—not a vestige remains,—besides fences, culverts, bridges, roads, and a large area of land. Eyreton.—A correspondent writes as follows yesterday : —The River Eyre burst its banks at a point opposite Capt. Rowe’s late residence, and came down the North road at 2 o’clock on Saturday morning. It rose rapidly until daylight, when it was about two feet deep in most of the houses, and the country for a long distance was under water, with the exception of gorse hedges. It subsided at night only to come down again on Sunday morning at 9 o’clock, and unless some steps are at once taken to prevent it, the whole of the River Eyre will come down the North road in future. This flood is worse than that of February 1868. The West Coast Coach'.—The coash due in Christchurch on Saturday night, but delayed in consequence of the swollen state of the rivers in the ranges, arrived in town at 5 p.m. yesterday. It would appear that Stobie, the driver, was on his return journey to Christchurch when he was stopped by the impassable state of the Kowai. Having waited until it had subsided somewhat, he carried his passengers across singly on his back, at no inconsiderable personal risk, inasmuch as the stream was almost waist deep, after which he succeeded in getting the coach safely across. This done, he made all haste for Christchurch, which he reached as stated above. The Northern Railway.—The new line of railway to Kaiapoi will be open for passenger traffic to-morrow, when the trains will run at hours and fares set forth in our advertising columns. The appointments of station masters at the various stations are understood to be—Riccarton, Mr G. Qaynor ; Papanui, Mr J. Long ; Styx, Mr E. Foweraker ; and Kaiapoi, Mr E. Silk. Rumour still asserts that a number of coaches will run between Papanui and Christchurch for the convenience of those passengers who prefer being landed in the centre of the city to having to walk from the present station on the South town belt. It is said that the owners of the ’busses will be able to afford this convenience to the public without the total cost of transit from Kaiapoi to Christchurch being greater than if the whole distance were accomplished by rail, but how far this will be verified by experience is open to question. It is understood that Messrs Sansom and Lee will still continue to run a through coach night and morning between Christchurch and Rangiora. The River Selwyn.—The recent heavy rains have had a much more serious effect on this river than was anticipated. Great damage has been done to the bridge on the southern line of the railway, and the country in the immediate vicinity has been inundated to an alarming extent. It would appear that the river was within a short distance of the height to which it attained during the great flood in 1868, and that the water was not only round Mr Gordon’s store and Lawrence’s hotel, but that the South road for quite a mile beyond the station was more or less under water. From this it will easily be understood that the current in the river bed proper was very great—so great indeed that the groin erected by Mr Thornton some time back" to protect the bridge was washed away and carried down stream until stopped by the piles of the bridge itself. What was intended as a protection thus became the immediate cause of serious damage. Being almost in mid-stream, the groin an immense scour around the piles, and in a comparatively short lime the latter were absolutely washed out of the bed of the river. This necessarily transferred all the strain to the superstructure of the bridge, which commenced to give way in such a manneras to threaten its destruction. To prevent this, workmen wore employed, though not without, risk, to cut away the piles against which the remains of the groin still rested. Fortunately it was accomplished without accident, and the bridge then resumed something like its original form. The removal of the piles of course rendered it necessary to stop the heavy traffic, but passengers have since been conveyed across in trollies, whilst no time is to be lost in replacing the piles that were cut away. At the bridge on the Leeston road, the traffic was entirely closed on Saturday, the water being above the protective works near the old bridge. On Sunday morning several persons crossed the river by means of the new bridge on the Rolleston and Southbridge tram line, but no heavy traffic has yet been conducted across the river.

Cantkkiiuuv YuoMANiir C-W.maly.--A meeting of the members of Urn Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry was held yesterday afternoon at four o’clock, at Coker’s Hotel, to decide upon the course to be adopted with reference to the Cavalry Race upon the Queen's Birthday; Major Craeroft Wilson, Cdl., in the chair. It was moved by Sergeant Md/inness, seconded by Corporal E. Bi'iUim, and agreed to--“ That the C.Y.C. Race be run on the (jnei'ii’s Birthday, on the Jockey Club course, and under the auspices of (he stewards of (he (J.ueen’s Birthday Races.” If. was resolved That, tl ic Cavalry supplement the £>~ t given by (he stewards of the (j,aim's j’irthday Races by the sum of £3, to bo given to the third horse ; the second horse to take (he sweepstakes, as advertised. The meeting then terminated.